Stadium naming rights just might get new ties

Half of Broncos parking lots could be replaced by other options

By Nicki Jhabvala

The Denver Post

Posted:
03/26/2018 07:34:44 PM MDT

Updated:
03/26/2018 07:35:08 PM MDT

Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis, left, talks with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, as he arrived at Dove Valley in August. Ellis announced a new, mixed-use development project that would replace about half of the the Broncos' stadium's parking lots with bars, restaurants, housing and entertainment options. (Andy Cross / The Denver Post)

ORLANDO, Fla. — The idea had been discussed for years, but last week the first steps were taken and revealed to the public.

The Denver Broncos, the Metropolitan Football Stadium District (MFSD) and the Denver Department of Community Planning and Development offered the first look at a new, mixed-use development project that would replace about half of the stadium's parking lots with bars, restaurants, housing and entertainment options.

"I think it was (Broncos chief commercial officer) Mac Freeman who said last week that it feels like the starter gun went off. And it kind of did," team president/CEO Joe Ellis said Monday at the NFL's annual meetings. "It's a great opportunity for the city and county of Denver. It is one of the last pieces of untapped real estate."

The vision is in its infancy without a developer on board yet, and the plan is long-term. Ellis, echoing earlier comments of district and city officials, said the impetus for the project is primarily twofold, with expected benefits to the team and its 17-year-old stadium, as well as to the city and neighboring districts.

The team has projected the cost of capital projects at the stadium over the next 25 years to be $500 million to $700 million. Lease payments from the new entertainment district would ease the financial burden and would be integral to the maintenance of the stadium. But a naming-rights partner is vital to carry the load.

Advertisement

"It's really being done to try to make sure we're prepared for all the various capital repair and needs that the stadium will have in the future," Ellis said. "Because otherwise we're going to be stuck with the building the way the team and city were stuck with Mile High Stadium, which was not a viable building at the end of its tenure. We don't think we need to get there. We got a great stadium, and if we continue to maintain it, if we continue to improve it, that's, from our standpoint, the primary goal.

"Add on to that the city's desire to grow in a reasonable and sensible fashion. It does make sense with two light-rail stops, highway access, access to downtown, workforce requirements, housing requirements to happen to this land. As long, as I said, we do it in a way that is not disruptive to the Denver Broncos and our fans."

But the project could have even greater implications. The Broncos' two-year search for a stadium naming-rights partner could be connected to the planned entertainment district.

"Still in contact and in negotiations," Ellis said. "I wouldn't tell you we were close, but there's an outside chance that this development would have some ties to the name on the building. And I don't have a concrete explanation of what that would be at this time, but it certainly could be part of the deal long-term. It's very important that we get the right partner — a partner that will be with us for a long period of time and not dissolve or go away or anything like that.

"We're paying the tab right now that was left when Sports Authority went away. We're going to continue to do that. It is an important piece of funding for the district in terms of capital repair, capital improvements. From that standpoint, we just have to make sure we get the right deal."

When Sports Authority went bankrupt, the Broncos assumed the remainder of the company's naming-rights contract — about $20 million of the original $60 million deal — and the team has been making regular payments to MFSD. Ellis said doing so hasn't hindered the team's ability to continue to make upgrades and repairs to the stadium, but long-term it isn't feasible or efficient.

The project is expected to be rolled out in phases, and Ellis said it could take up to 10 years to complete. And the timeline, as well as well as the prolonged hunt for a naming-parts partner, could be intertwined.

"It is and it isn't," Ellis said. "There will be some conversations where it will factor in and there will be conversations that will be standalone about just putting the name on the stadium. We'll kind of go down two tracks with that and leave all options open."

After losing her father in January, McConnell ran through emotional barriers all yearThe pain inside Peak to Peak's celebrated runner, Quinn McConnell, stretches far greater than any course. Full Story

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story